


Apprentices

by timahina



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 07:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12836085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timahina/pseuds/timahina
Summary: Yushou really wanted some help with an overcrowded class, but first... they really needed to get along.





	Apprentices

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skittymon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skittymon/gifts).



In the three years Sakaki Yushou had been gone, he expected big changes. His son not actually being his son nor his best friend starting an inter-dimensional war to get back his daughter came to mind – not exactly the kind of change one prepared for. But now, six months had gone since the dimensions had fused. Heartland was well on its way to being rebuilt, Academia infrastructure – both internally and externally, were reconstructing and The City famed for Riding Duels was stabilizing politically, socially even. And Standard felt no different.

Given the different climate, the dueling circuit was wider, more duelists to challenge him for his undefeated champion title – though did it count considering he was the champion of the former Standard dimension and now there were three other dimensional champions to contend with? Jack Atlas was the former champion defeated by Yuya. And he was defeated by Yuri, who was defeated by Yuya. So Yuya technically had two champions under his belt?

Maybe?

Well, either way – he would wait for some invitation to another duel before a set organized pro tournament was set up by LDS. They were the only ones with a big enough network across the dimensions and sufficient facilities to support such a feat. In the meantime, he’d stick to teaching. That was less confusing, easier to understand. He had three dimensions’ worth of students and accommodations were to be made. Now there were enough to split them up by age groups. Luckily, Dennis liked working with the younger students. It was easier for him, given his age and everything. And he easily won the hearts of the children; a pupil of his indeed.

And thankfully, Shuzou was best with the middle schoolers – Yushou didn’t understand but he seemed to match their energy. Maybe it was the hot-blooded dueling tactics or being able to easily talk to children who were the same age as Yuzu.

Meaning he would be with the high school aged students.

There were… so many unfamiliar faces, he assumed many must’ve been from the former Synchro Dimension. Others, he recognized from the Fusion Dimension, such as Tenjoin Asuka. His first and star pupil from among the defectors of Academia. A familiar face was always welcomed.

“Sensei, what _are_ you thinking about?” She asked, walking into class and dragging a chair next to the teacher’s desk where Yushou sat at. He was merely staring at his desk, papers scattered everywhere.

“… I did not have these many students yesterday.”

Asuka snorted, leaning her head on her hand. “Well _duh_. They obviously enrolled.”

It was funny to him how three dimensions worth of students could actually be. He considered himself lucky for not having been trapped in the Synchro dimension now as that would’ve added to the course load. Maybe he needed to get an assistant.

… what was a magician without an apprentice?

Though that meant he would have to go through extensive candidates, interviews, background checks and-

“So Asuka, how would you like fee waiver in exchange for being a student teacher? Specifically, mine.”

Why bother doing any of that when he had students aplenty to choose from? Tenjoin Asuka was a logical choice, having been his first student in the Fusion Dimension. She was patient, understanding, a top duelist and knew different summoning methods like fusion and ritual, one that was severely underrated. Yes, Asuka was a perfect choice for an assistant.

She merely stared at him and blinked, once. “Uh… a student teacher?”

“Oh, come now - you’d be great, a marvelous teacher.”

“… the class size was larger than you thought?”

“Exceedingly.” Yushou was not afraid to admit when he had gone over his head. “And I am offering you free tuition-”

“That doesn’t mean much when you never charged me back in Fusion anyways – not to mention I’m not enrolled.” She corrected him and could see the desperation growing deeper in his eyes.

“Asuka… class starts in three days.”

She sighed, putting her head atop the desk. Asuka knew Yushou well enough that ordinarily, he wasn’t one to ask for help. No task was too great for the Legendary Star Duelist. He didn’t like burdening others so surely, he had reached his limit or he was getting too old to wrangle so many students. She didn’t realize he had a limit. “I’ll think about it.”

It was an unofficial yes.

\---

There were perhaps… worse things for Kaito. He had awful experiences involving fusion users. They attacked his home, captured his family, imprisoned his friends, and did nothing but cause misery. But that was in the past. It wasn’t like that anymore. Or at least, that’s what he was trying to tell Haruto.

“He’s not going to do anything, Haruto. Dennis Macfield is a teacher now and _my_ former teacher trusts him.” Haruto did not look persuaded, his eyes cast downward as Kaito bent down to his knees and took his smaller hands within his own. “He won’t do you any harm, I promise.”

“... do _you_ trust him, _nii-sama_?”

A difficult question. He saw Dennis card himself before his own eyes in an act of guilt, vowing that the Lancers would never forgive him and his crimes were too great to have been forgiven. When he fought Sakaki Yuya, he placed the role of the villain upon himself - still repenting for the crimes he had committed. “I… I believe that he can change.” It wasn’t a clear answer, not by a long shot. But Yushou trusted him, allowed him back in. And he had watched Dennis with the other children.

Although, there was still doubt within him. It was hard to completely cast it out and go back to the normalcy before the war. But this was the first step. Kaito stood back up, his hand still holding tightly onto Haruto’s.

“If you want, we can just tour today and I can drop you off another day.”

“Please…”

There was no rush to send him already off to school.

Instead, Haruto trailed alongside Kaito as he walked around the school. Most of the time consisted of Kaito standing by the doorway while trying to push Haruto to at least make eye contact with some of the students. Maybe he was going too fast and Haruto would move at his own pace.

“Kaito!”

He turned, seeing his former teacher approach him with a wide grin and a young girl by his side. It was that… that fusion user he was always with, damn – what was her name? “Morning, teacher.”

“Ah, what a sight for sore eyes! Just getting a handle on things before the first day?”

Kaito shrugged, feeling his brother’s grip on his hand tighten. “Hm, sorta. Just showing Haruto around, I was thinking of enrolling him.”

It wasn’t as though Kaito had many other options in terms of schools. For now, Heartland was still under construction and in no condition for any proper school to start up. Until then, it was better to find schooling elsewhere. Maiami City was the best option as it had the most schools with variety and some semblance of knowledge of xyz summoning. But only You Show had the familiarity and trust of many of the children of Heartland hence why he was there.

Yushou stepped forward, slapping Kaito’s back harshly. “Excellent choice!” Kaito coughed, nearly having the wind knocked out of him. The girl next to Yushou snickered, trying to hide her amusement behind her hand. A slight embarrassment rose to his cheeks, he wasn’t _that_ weak – Sakaki Yushou just had a strong grip. “There’s no better place! Little Haruto in Dennis’ class and you in mine!”

Haruto’s eyes lit up, the first sign of him being interested. “You’re going here too? I wanna go here!” It was the first bit of excitement Haruto had shown about school and it was all due to Yushou saying Kaito was attending.

Kaito merely raised a brow, bending forward slightly. “Haruto, go to the class. I need to talk to teacher real quick.” For once, Haruto complied and left him alone. Kaito watched him for a moment, seeing him awkwardly enter the class and listening in on the lesson before turning back to Yushou and.. the girl. “I’m only here for Haruto, not myself.”

“Nonsense! You still need to finish schooling!”

Did he though?

Kaito scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Before Heartland was invaded, I was top of the class and headed to the pro league. I don’t think further education is necessary.” Somehow, surviving a war seemed education enough. He didn’t need to restart from square one and relive life as a student. Not to mention, he was already eighteen. The idea of being stuck with teenagers… it irked him.

“Your brother seemed really enthusiastic about you joining though.” The Fusion girl spoke up, damn it – what _was_ her name? _Asuna, Aiko, Aoi..._ a list of names were running through Kaito’s head, none of them seemed right. He remembered Dennis calling her a traitor but not her name!

“I’m not willing to sit through lessons again.”

“Don’t have the attention span?”

He scowled. “Just because you need lessons thrice told, doesn’t mean I do too.”

Asuka huffed, her fists balling up. Was he insulting her? “I’m not a student, let’s get that clear.”

Yushou could already see Kaito firing up, meaning Asuka would square up and shoot him down. The last thing he wanted was a duel to arise between the two of them simply from a few barbs exchanged at ill timing. “Now, now. There’s no need to fuss.”

“I wasn’t fussing. Just stating that I don’t need further instruction.”

“Say all the pretty words you want, doesn’t change you being stubborn.”

“Asuka!”

_Asuka!_ That was it! Tenjoin Asuka, the former Academia student helping Yushou around. And she wasn’t a student…? Then what was she doing there then, as a teacher? How many teachers did this place need? _I guess one for every summoning method…_ Was Jack Atlas somewhere around the corner?

“It wouldn’t matter anyway, enrollment is full and there’d be no room for Tenjo-san anyways.” It was a smug sort of look on her face, as though she wanted him gone. Why? He couldn’t recall doing anything against her. If anything, he should be having the problem with her considering she was a former student of Academia. Kaito wondered how many of his comrades she had carded and took pleasure in hunting.

No, he couldn’t allow such thoughts. They were past that point, he had to move _on_.

Yushou stroked his chin in thought before gasping loudly. “Wait a moment! A brilliant idea! Tenjo Kaito, how would you like to be my assistant?”

“… what?” It was like he wasn’t in the hallway anymore and entered some sort of strange dream. An assistant for what?

“As Asuka stated, enrollment is full and I am in desperate need of a student teacher.”

This time, it was Asuka who spoke. Turning to him, her eyes wide and her stance slightly defensive. “But, you asked _me_ for that position?” Was Tenjo Kaito that much of a better option for him than her? That infuriated her. She was just as good of a duelist and more so – unlike him, she was steadfast in the ideals that Yushou taught. He wasn’t about to brush her aside so easily… was he?

He shook his head. “Enrollment is _full_ , Asuka. Meaning I will need more than one. And who better than my top students from Heartland and Academia?” Yushou placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on Kaito’s. “You two will make a fine pair, I can see it now. I’d be the luckiest teacher.”

Both of them eyed each other, each of them had their own bit of scowl for the other, a bit of resentment housed for each other. It wasn’t as though Yushou wasn’t oblivious to the tension in the air, he was just indifferent as long as it benefitted him.

Kaito sighed.

“I… guess, it wouldn’t be too terrible.”

Lies. It would be entirely terrible. He was horrible in any sort of team effort, always clashing – in duels and other efforts. And this was to prove no different.

Asuka didn’t try to make some snarky comment, unlike Kaito. She could tell from the eagerness of Yushou’s face that he was serious about this. When he got an idea in his head, no matter how foolhardy it was, Yushou followed through with it. There was no point in disagreeing. So for now, she would put on the most cooperating front she could and trust her hand forward. “I look forward to working with you, Tenjo-san.” It was the effort that mattered more.

Kaito knew an obvious front when he saw one and she was no different at it. He gripped his fists tightly before raising up his hand in hesitation, taking hers in a firm grip. “… the feeling’s mutual.”

Yushou beamed a great smile, pleasantly pretending all would go well. “Excellent! Classes start in three days, so I will need to see you both tomorrow, bright and early for prep! Put on your best smiling faces, the fun has just begun!” An endeavor to try and put some enthusiasm in both their expressions which were dulled by a slight bitterness toward the other. He patted both their backs and went off, walking away and leaving them both alone in the hallway.

With their teacher out of sight, immediately Asuka retracted her hand and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Let’s get this sorted; one of us is the number two assistant.”

He scoffed. Her front was put down so fast, Kaito would’ve gotten whiplash had he not expected it. “If you wanted a competition, be more upfront about that, Asuka.” Kaito sent back a taunt, his eyes glimmering with amusement.

An irritating tsk. “… don’t act so familiar with me, Tenjo-san.” Normally, she didn’t mind or care really when someone had gone straight to using her first name. Among her circle, it had been pretty common. With them though, there was an air of mutual respect and fondness. But it was clear he didn’t do it out of that and the only mutual feeling they shared was a slight bitter taste in the mouths.

Kaito sighed, turning his gaze toward the classroom that Haruto had entered. “I’m not here to make friends, _Tenjoin_ ,” another irritated tsk from Asuka, “nor to learn anything. I’ll take up the number two spot if something so arbitrary is important to you.”

How was he ever a student of Sakaki Yushou’s? Tenjo Kaito was just willing to hand that title over to her without any sort of clash or rivalry. She had all but declared him a rival and he merely brushed her off. That was the biggest slight he could’ve caused her – not even an acknowledgement that she was on the same level as him but to merely abstain from how little he cared…

But. Asuka wasn’t one to lecture. At least, not someone who wouldn’t listen to reason. She wouldn’t waste her efforts. “Then move aside, Number Two.” The only thing to do was treat him like the lower rank he had accepted. Asuka merely relaxed her arms down to her sides and stepped forth, her shoulder brushing harshly against Kaito’s in an effort to move him from her path.

Stubborn he was, he remained planted firmly in his spot and winced when their shoulders made contact. He… had underestimated her strength and would most likely feel an ache there by morning. Or worst-case scenario, a bruise to remind him the next time they met.

\---

Yushou tried not to think about the tension between his students after he left them, chalking it up to normal and typical teenage ridiculousness and drive. He needed to simply make light of the subject. After all, it was normal for kids their age to be… dismissive and argumentative and have a scowl as though they were ready to fight it out in the middle of the hallway. A _healthy_ competitive streak, yes! That was the drive the school needed!

He could almost hear Shuzou scream about how it was the hot-blooded burning passion of a duelist running through their veins and rather than squelching it, Yushou should nourish it and fan the flames until they consume the entire audience.

Admirable advice, but…

“You should drop them both and get new assistants.” Yoko suggested, picking up the dishes from the tables. Yushou planted his face against the table and groaned. That wasn’t the advice he was looking for.

“But… but I have too many students and-”

“Oh, there’s no _buts_ out of this one. It’s the same as gang ranks. When they aren’t getting along, it messes the entire flow and you have to throw out the problem. It’s how you keep them in order.”

Kicking either Asuka or Kaito out didn’t sound incredibly appealing to him. How he saw Haruto’s face light up bright and with enthusiasm from Kaito being in the school as well – the child would be devastated if he rejected Kaito and have to be taken to another school. But Asuka was his first student and had stuck with him through thick and thin, abandoning her now when he had asked her first was the biggest jerk move.

He didn’t want to get rid of either of them. There was no good reason to. “… what if I force them to get along?”

“You weren’t listening to me at all, were you?”

“No, think about it.” Yushou stood up, now helping his wife put away the small leftovers from dinner. “They’re young and volatile and eager to please. I can mold their misguidance into something great.”

“They aren’t clay, Yushou.”

“I know _that_.”

She giggled. “Ya sure about that?”

_No,_ he thought bitterly as he pouted and went back to the table, beating his head on it again and groaned from both pain and frustration. Maybe he needed to be patient for a night. Today was perhaps just a day of nerves from both of them and tomorrow would be better. They would be in a better mood, cooperate, and be able to actually _help_ him which was the whole point of them being his student teachers for the semester.

\---

“You’re late, Number Two.” Kaito stopped in his track momentarily, simply staring at Asuka. Why was she…! Oh! It took him a moment to remember and recalled the other day when he had declared he didn’t care who had the top position. And while it was still true… being referred to as number two, as second best was somewhat irksome. And he was only a minute late. “You need to set a proper example for the students in Teacher’s class.”

“School hasn’t even started yet, Asu- _Tenjoin_. There’s no students to set an example for.”

Was she always going to do this?

Asuka sighed, putting down the papers and walking around the desk. It was rather apparent what a force she could be as Kaito steadied himself the closer she got until she was toe to toe and looking down at him. She wasn’t even a particularly terrifying force but there was something threatening about her. It must’ve been remnants from Academia but even so, he never feared the other Academia students. She didn’t strike fear but more so a bit of weariness.

She leaned forward, her face closing in on his own. “If you’re late now, you’ll be late always. Bad habits set in early, Number Two.”

“Bad habit, eh?” He narrowed his eyes and leaned in close as well, their noses nearly touching as neither of them were backing down. Neither of them were bothered the proximity or at least were hiding it well. “Like calling me by that dumb nickname?”

“ _Self-inflected_ nickname.” Asuka smirked and raised her finger, poking his shoulder and he tried not to wince. There was most certainly a bruise there from before.

Both huffed, refusing to back up lest give in to the other. They each figured this was overall a worthless matter, but the stubborn and competitive nature was overtaking them, overwhelming and an absolute urge to just-!

“Good morning! And ho- _oh_!” Yushou tried for a morning greeting, bright and early and cheery only to see both his students with their faces so close to the other. His appearance did affect them though. Immediately, both realized what little distance there was between them and remembered was modesty was. They backed away, their backs turned to each other. “Did I interrupt some… _bonding_ time?” Yushou teased and if possible, the air becoming stifling. At least for both Asuka and Kaito. “I didn’t know you two liked each other _so fast_! Try to keep the funny business outside the classroom though.” He winked, following up his playful advice with a laugh.

They both shook their heads.

“… you’re late, Teacher.” Kaito spoke up, feeling the tips of his ears ablaze with embarrassment. It was the first thing he could think of to try and turn the attention back on Yushou and away from the blunder he’d been caught in.

“Oh? Am I?” Yushou said, his eyes widening a bit as he looked over to Asuka for confirmation.

Asuka cleared her throat loudly and turned to face Yushou, her stance serious with her face significantly less embarrassed. No, in fact she was composed and so unlike Kaito who had looked undone and unused to being caught in something like that. “You’re later than Number Two here! That’s a bad example for your students. Imagine if there was a class here and-”

“Wait, who is number two?”

“Him!” Asuka straightened out her arm, pointing to her left without looking at him. “Be on time, the both of you!” She huffed before taking a deep breath and walked out of the classroom, grumbling about getting herself some breakfast.

Oh, that explained why Asuka had been completely in his face when he walked in. She seemed sincere in her annoyance and it was obviously just a ploy to get him to act better which was… true, he needed to be on time. Though he wondered if Kaito being late had designated him to number two spot or what that even meant. Maybe that was another ploy to get him to act better as well. He could believe that. “Eh, don’t get too flustered by her. I’m sure she’s got some shame in her somewhere – this just means she likes ya.”

“… I have a hard time believing that.”

“Nonsense!” Yushou took a seat next to the door and motioned for Kaito to take the one next to him. He sighed heavily, giving in and took the seat next to him. It was like an odd scolding. “You two will be working together, it’s only natural you should get along. She’s just tryna rile you up. No offense, but you’re not the liveliest character.”

It wasn’t much Kaito could do to argue against him. Logically, Yushou was making the most sense and getting along with her would bring the most benefit and he should be mature and try to. She wasn’t his enemy. She… never was.

“Tell ya what,” Yushou pulled out his wallet from his pocket and handed Kaito a few bills, “why don’t you run after her and help with breakfast?” He stared at the money in front of his face, contemplating. He shouldn’t take it. It was too easy a way out and something about accepting Yushou’s money and offer was ridiculous but… “She’ll be sweeter when she’s got something in her belly. Trust me on that.”

“I’m… I’m not-”

“And _so_ will you, Kaito.” His voice was stern, waving the money as another urging sign for him to accept it.

Kaito reached out, taking the bills and stood out of his chair. “I’ll… I’ll get us some coffee then.” Caffeine was needed for how long of a day this was going to be.

Yushou waved at him, watching him leave the classroom and snickered. Kaito was good at heart, but boy was he stubborn. Just like Asuka. They suffered from an absurd amount of pride. He was certain they’d make decent friends if they weren’t so hard-headed and immature – from what he knew of them both, they had plenty in common. He had almost hoped they _were_ getting along when he walked in and looking as though they were about to kiss.

Kaito’s embarrassment from the ordeal nearly looked it, or at least acknowledged what the situation appeared like. And how quickly Asuka followed the changing topic, how neither of them acknowledged the moment… youth really was wasted on the young. He pulled out his phone, deciding to shove their buttons a little more. Short fuses were always fun to poke and prod.

\---

It was pointless to grumble continuously over her dense teacher and unresponsive peer. No matter the hour, it was already too early to deal with them. And it was such a shame too, Asuka could’ve sworn she nearly had a breakthrough with Kaito. Annoying him with the nickname and he would demand to be referred to properly and take the position seriously rather than being passive at best. But of course, Yushou had to interrupt… and think the worst. That annoyed her more than anything.

Even more than rushing out of there, declaring to get food but not even having the money on her to get the food. Going back empty-handed would just be a sign that she was frustrated and left in a huff over nothing. Asuka stopped in her tracks and sighed; maybe she would lie and say that there wasn’t anything she was in the mood for. Or maybe call her brother and ask him to deliver her a donut or something. But he’d probably order something overly sweet or-

“Tenjoin!” She turned at the sudden mention of her name, eyes wide at seeing Kaito running toward her and stopping in front of her, panting slightly as he held out his hand. “I’ll get breakfast… ok?” His face was slightly red, either from how much he was running or from the shame of offering, or even his _manner_ of offering.

He was offering to buy her food?

Why?

Asuka raised a brow at his offer, skeptical of his sudden generosity. “… did you seriously run after me to pay for a donut?”

“Coffee too…” It sounded dumber out loud. And he hadn’t thought of anything clever to say on his run over. In an effort to step forward and try to be courteous and maybe get along, he had forgotten to what to say to articulate those sentiments. And being purely blunt was not the best course, not for this.

She wasn’t too much in a mood to try and deal with his apathetic manners. But him running after her holding money so he could get breakfast was a bit funny, especially from what little she knew about him it seemed almost out of character. And she didn’t have any money of her own… Asuka crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “Actually, I want a breakfast sandwich instead.”

“… I can cover that.” Kaito followed after her, only thinking about how ridiculous this whole thing was. Even if he had bought her food, neither of them were bound to get along all that differently. No, he had to be the one to actually say something.

That was why Yushou sent him over.

It definitely wasn’t to be a gentleman and buy Asuka some food; Kaito was smart enough to see through the obvious unsubtle ploy. “Hey, Asuka-”

“ _Tenjoin_.”

Kaito groaned. “I don’t want to argue for the next year over semantics – can we just get rid of the formality and talk?”

Asuka laid down her arms, turned around and her lip furled. “Oh, _now_ you want to talk and be friendly? Did I just catch you on a bad day yesterday?”

It wasn’t a bad day. Not even a bad week or month. But it was a growing bitter taste that Kaito had yet to get out of his mouth. A slow crawl back to reality and normalcy were never easy things to accept, not after the hell he lived. “It’s… no, it’s not that. I’ve not been…” Kaito groaned again, covering his face with his hand and could feel the heat building up. He didn’t want to think about how terrible he looked or how much his stomach was jumbling. He took a deep breath and put his hand down, his hands balling up into fists. “Can we start over?!”

That was unexpected. How outspoken he was in that moment, Asuka could only stare. “Were you prompted by Teacher or something?” It was hard to believe this was done willingly.

“No, well- sorta, not really. He wants us to get along, I think but more importantly…” Kaito had told Haruto that he believed Dennis could change. A former Academia student trying to make amends. Another one before him trying to befriend him and he had mocked her. Everyone else was trying to step forward and go on with their lives. He had no reason to remain as stagnant as he was. “ _I_ want to start over.” His face was still burning and looking her in the eye was difficult – the actual definition of discomfort, but it needed to be done.

Asuka fought to keep her smile down and her leg started bouncing; it was starting to hurt from how much she was trying to contain her composure. He was being actually genuine, a far cry from before when he was more stubborn. She stepped forward, leaning down a bit and tapped his nose with her finger. He jerked from the sudden surprise touch but was brought to ease when he saw her smile. “You look better like this, _Kaito_. I… _guess_ we could be friends.”

“I’ll take begrudging rival, Asuka.” His own smile was subtler, or at least trying to be so. Big smiles and grins weren’t a fashion of his. But he was glad that they could start again. And from how she reached her hand forward, accepting the money from him – she was too. Their hands touched briefly and at that moment, both their phones started buzzing and they pulled it out and a sudden awkward air suffocated them at reading the texts from Yushou.

**Hey! Get all your kissy faces over with and hurry back!**  
**‘Be good examples’**  
 **Is ‘getting breakfast’ gonna be a code for other things?**  
 **LOL**


End file.
